FIG. 1 depicts a portion of a conventional heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) transducer 10. The conventional HAMR transducer 10 includes a conventional waveguide 12 having a conventional core 18 and cladding 14 and 16, a conventional near-field transducer (NFT) 30, and a write pole 40. The NFT 30 has a disk portion 34 and a pin portion 32. The pin portion 32 is between the disk portion 34 and the air-bearing surface (ABS). The NFT 30 is typically formed of gold or a gold alloy. The conventional HAMR transducer 10 is used in writing to a recording media and receives light, or energy, from a conventional laser (not shown).
In operation, light from a laser is coupled to the waveguide 12. Light is guided by the conventional waveguide 12 to the NFT 30 near the ABS. The NFT 30 utilizes local resonances in surface plasmons to focus the light to magnetic recording media (not shown), such as a disk. The surface plasmons used by the NFT 30 are electromagnetic waves that propagate along metal/dielectric interfaces. At resonance, the NFT 30 couples the optical energy of the surface plasmons efficiently into the recording medium layer with a confined optical spot which is much smaller than the optical diffraction limit. This optical spot can typically heat the recording medium layer above the Curie point in nano-seconds. High density bits can be written on a high coercivity medium with a pole 40 having modest magnetic field.
FIG. 2 depicts a conventional method 50 for providing the NFT 30 in the conventional HAMR transducer 10. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a layer of conductive material is deposited for the NFT, via step 52. Typically the conductive material is gold. The conductive layer is masked, via step 54. The mask covers the portion of the conductive layer that will form the NFT 30. The exposed portion of the conductive layer is removed, via step 56. Step 56 typically includes performing an ion mill. The remaining portion of the conductive layer forms the NFT. Thus, the NFT 30 is formed. Fabrication of the conventional HAMR transducer 10 may then be completed.
Although the conventional method 10 may form the conventional NFT 30, there are drawbacks. In particular, the conventional NFT 30 not perform as desired. For example, due to heating during use, the pin portion 32 of the NFT 30 may undergo plastic deformation. The metals used in the NFT 30 may also undergo softening at elevated temperatures. As a result, the NFT 30 may fail during operation. Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for improving performance of a HAMR transducer.